Thanks for the responses! I think I will follow both of your leads and not obsess about weight.I think I will take my measurements every second or third week and my weight monthly (if I can resist the urge to do it sooner) :)

Hey girl- welcome to Spark and to the team!!! We're so excited to have you on board!

Personally, I asked this same question when I got started on the program, and there is a thread with a lot of people's ideas, and what they'll be doing on the thread called "To weight or not to weigh..." in the general forum. So you can get a bunch of thoughts from there, too!

When I started the program three weeks ago, I kept weighing myself almost daily through the first week or two. I think I lost some water weight initially, but then when I started to see the scale CREEP UP (after some serious soreness- I'm sure water RETENTION!), I got all frustrated and irritated with myself, and I asked my hubby to hide the scale.

So I haven't weighed in a few weeks now, and might check in at the end of this week before beginning Phase 2, but I feel so much less obsessive compulsive with the NUMBER on the scale when I just have it out of sight.

It's totally up to you and what you can handle emotionally though-- the scale numbers tug at my mood too much to handle it through this challenge.

I know that Jamie Eason has recommended to stay away from the scales during this programme and to use measurements as a better gauge of your progress. She also posted this picture on Facebook which is a visual representation of 5lbs of fat and 5lbs of muscle. 5lbs is 5 lbs but the muscles takes less space than the fat. So whilst you may not lose weight, you could be losing inches.

This being said, I think you should do what feels right for you.

I have resisted the urge to weigh myself (I normally weigh once a week), but I've decided that I will weigh myself and take my measurements at the end of each phase only. I don't trust the scales too much anymore since it told me I'd put on 3lbs when I came back from holiday but my tape measure told me I'd lost 2.5cm around my waist and 1cm around my hips in a month!!

Good luck for the challenge!

Love from Sandra xxx

Something has changed within me, something is not the same I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game Too late for second-guessing, too late to go back to sleep It's time to trust my instincts, close my eyes: and leap!

I'm new to Sparkpeople AND new to the program - completed my Day 1 today!

I'm excited to start Phase 1 but noticed it's mostly focused on building muscle. Therefore, should I really be tracking my "success" as how much weight I lose, since inevitably I may gain weight from gaining muscle? Or should I be more focused on inches? Before this program, I was doing a TON of cardio with light weights, so it was pretty easy to track my weight and attribute it to fat loss.

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